Trial in Gulf oil spill cases postponed

Nicholls names 2 to baseball staff
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Nicholls names 2 to baseball staff
October 13, 2010
La Hwy 1 to close temporarily Sunday
October 15, 2010

A federal judge agreed last Wednesday to postpone a trial designed to assign percentages of fault to the companies sued over the massive Gulf oil spill.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rescheduled the start of the trial for Feb. 27, 2012, about four months later than the original trial date.


Halliburton Energy Services, Cameron International and other companies had asked for more time to prepare for a trial on the case’s “limitation and liability allocation issues.”


Barbier presides over more than 300 consolidated lawsuits spawned by the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, which killed 11 workers and triggered the spill.

Testing on a key piece of evidence – the rig’s failed blowout preventer – isn’t likely to be completed until February 2011, Barbier noted in last week’s order.


“While the court intends to expedite this complex litigation to the extent possible, it appears to the court that the defendants’ motion has merit, and that there is good cause to reset the limitation trial date,” the judge wrote.

The trial, which will be held without a jury, is expected to last roughly eight weeks. Issues related to damages will be tried separately.

Also last week, Barbier ruled that lawsuits filed against rig owner BP PLC by several Louisiana district attorneys must be heard in federal court.

The district attorneys for Terrebonne, St. Tammany and St. Mary parishes wanted their lawsuit transferred to state court, but Barbier agreed with BP that he has jurisdiction over the case.

The district attorneys’ suit seeks civil penalties against BP for the spill’s toll on wildlife and aquatic life.

Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon April 21, 2010. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. COAST GUARD